


The Doomed Inspector

by UndeadWithoutCoffee



Series: The Doomed Prince Collection [3]
Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Bedtime Stories, F/M, Family, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 05:58:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18543703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadWithoutCoffee/pseuds/UndeadWithoutCoffee
Summary: Jane and Jack share dinner while waiting for Phryne to come home. Being the well-read man he is, he agrees to tell Jane a story before she retires.





	The Doomed Inspector

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my Doomed Prince Series, as it uses the story that is part 1 of the series. It's not needed to understand this story though.
> 
> The idea came as I was watching "Murder in the Dark" where Phryne wears a Cleopatra-Costume, working an egyptian story into this. Anyhow I am on my first viewing of this show (my friend forced me to watch an episode recently and I was hooked), so feel free to point out any mistakes you see.
> 
> This story was first translated into german and published in 1906, so Jack might have gotten a copy during the war.
> 
> Also English is not my native language (I'm german) and I do not have a beta reader. So same as above: see any mistakes, please do tell me as I want to improve my writing.
> 
> Comments (good or bad) are very much welcomed!

Jane eyed the inspector over her cup of tea, pondering the story he had just told her. "So this story really has no ending?", she asked.

"Not that we know of, no.", he replied after taking a sip from his cup.

This had certainly not been the nightcap he had imagined when coming to the Wardlow, but overall he found that he had actually enjoyed the dinner with Jane. Upon knocking, he had been sent to the dining table alone, Mr. Butler explaining to him that Miss Fisher had been called by her aunt due to an emergency with her cousin, but after he had heard Jane in the kitchen he decided to have dinner with her instead. A good descision as the girl had seemed only to happy to tell him of the proceedings of her day and he found that it not only distracted him from the fact that indeed people still apparently liked to do horrible things to each other on a daily basis, but it also proved to be much more ... conducive for the peace of his mind than sparring with Miss Fisher. As enjoyable as it might be, that woman was surely going to be the death of him one day or make him do some less than honourable things. Whichever came first. Probably the latter where she was involved.

Compared with that it seemed safe to oblige Jane, when the girl had requested he tell her a story before she went to bed.

Assuming that Jane would know most of the commonly told bedtime stories, he decided to tell her one of his favorites. A story from a book called ' _Altaegyptische Sagen und Maerchen',_ a book he had aquired during the war, the 'Tale of the Doomed Prince'. Even though the story was over 2000 years old it was mostly like any other fairytale someone would read to their children, save for the missing end. A phrophecy of fate for a prince who, after being locked away for safety by his parents for his whole childhood, decided to take his chance and married a princess as reward for going out to actually seize his life instead of hiding somewhere.

"How do we know they lived happily ever after then?", Jane asked, frowing. The story did break off at the worst possible point, she mused, the princess having saved her prince from the first danger that was foretold to him, only to have him stumble into the next ... where apparently the rest of the text had been lost over the time.

Jack looked at her, pondering what to say in reply. With the war and his ensuing troubles at home he had never honestly considered a happy ending to that particular story, but this was not exactly something he wanted to say to a young girl. Briefly he wondered at what point his perspective to life had become this pessimistic, surely there had been some point of time where he had actually believed that things could end well. But in the trenches of a 'War to end all wars' that became easily forgotten. Maybe there had been a brief period of hope when he had returned but that was quickly starved away by his fading marriage and the lack of children to distract both him and Rosie from the fact that they no longer had anything in common. Now? Admittedly he had started to enjoy his days again, mostly due to his aquaintance with Miss Fisher, but despite his attraction to her, sometimes hitting him like a freight train, there was no way this particular story could end in anything but heartbreak. His heart being the victim most likely, and it was best to keep that in mind instead of entertaining silly hopes of any other outcome.

"Because we can choose to believe it ends happily, Jane. And now I believe it's time for you to head off to bed dear.", Phryne said, entering the kitchen from where she had been standing in the doorway behind Jack before.

Wordlessly, the two adults watched Jane nod before she left the room.

"How long have you been standing in the entrance?", he asked, suddenly unsure of wether or not she would appreciate him spending the evening with her daughter while she had been absent from the house.

"A while, long enough to listen to that story Jack.", she replied, before motioning for him to follow her into the parlour for their usual nightcap. When they were seated on the chaise, whiskey in hand, Phryne watched Jack, who was still uncomfortable and felt as if he was caught doing something improper. That thought actually made her sad, while she had not intended for them to have dinner without her, Phryne actually wanted for him to feel at home here and as if he was part of this family of outcasts. Even though she would not say so, she had only interfered on their time when she had sensed that Jack seemed at a loss of what to say to Jane, and her words had been chosen as much for his benefit as for her daughter's. Though her words had surprised herself, considering her own past experiance, but she found they were true at least where Jack was concerned.

"I admit I never heard of it but I kind of liked that this princess gets to save her hapless prince instead of the other way round.", she said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood with their usual playful banter.

 


End file.
